Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods is the sequel to Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog Productions' classic god game: you take on the role of a young deity from the Greek pantheon who must grow their following, raise and flatten terrain, and unleash curses, earthquakes, or volcanoes against the followers of a rival god until they're pushed out entirely. Compared to the original, it adds a much deeper spell tree and a learning curve that pushes players to think in terms of territorial management rather than pure destruction.
Today it's remembered as one of the founding pillars of the god-game strategy genre, the template that later gave rise to Dungeon Keeper and so many other Bullfrog titles. Revisiting it is still a fascinating exercise in understanding where that formula of controlling the world through minimal gestures came from — a formula that feels obvious today but was a genuine revelation at the time.
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